CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When Queens University men’s basketball coach Grant Leonard boards the team’s plane for St. Louis for its first-round NCAA Tournament game against No. 2 seed Purdue, he’ll be accompanied by his staff, players and Buddy the Street Dog.
Buddy is a 2-foot tall ceramic figurine of a golden shepherd, which Leonard calls the team’s “spirit animal.”
It was an idea that originated last summer when Leonard overheard his players talking about being “dogs” on the court as they prepared to make a run at the NCAA Tournament in their first season of eligibility after making the jump from Division II in 2022-23.
One of Leonard’s assistants piped in to ask the players, “Well are you guys street dogs or PetCo dogs?” That was a reference to whether they are tough or spoiled. The players naturally responded by saying they were street dogs.
A few days later, Leonard went on Amazon and purchased Buddy.
Now, Buddy travels with the team and is given out after each game to the player who displays the most grit on the court based on things playing hard-nosed defense, diving for loose balls and taking charges.
“I wanted our guys to identify with being hungry and fighting for everything,” Leonard said. “So I found Buddy and we adopted him. Now Buddy the street dog has his own chain, and his own social media site and everything.”
Queens is the smallest school in the tournament in terms of enrollment size with approximately 1,500 students.
If you don’t know much about the school, you’re not alone.
When Purdue center Oscar Cluff was asked by a television reporter earlier this week what he knew about Queens, he responded “it’s in New York somewhere.”
Well, not quite.
Queens University is located in downtown Charlotte — which is known as the “Queen City” in honor of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of British King George III — just a couple of miles from where the NBA’s Hornets play.
Last week, Queens joined North Dakota State, UC San Diego, and Northern Kentucky as the only men’s basketball programs to reach the Big Dance in its first year of NCAA eligibility after defeating Central Arkansas 98-93 in the Atlantic Sun championship.
For Queens, the last couple of weeks have been all about firsts.
This is the first time they will fly in a private jet to an away game and the first time they’ll have fans — about 300 are expected to attend — at their team hotel.
“We’re all excited to soak in the moment,” Leonard said.
But that doesn’t mean the Royals are coming to have fun. Players have made it clear that they’re headed to St. Louis seeking an upset.
If they do, it will be a team effort.
Although Atlantic Sun preseason player of the year Chris Ashby had 34 points and 10 3s in the conference championship game, the Royals are one of three programs in the country that have six players averaging double figures.
“There’s really no pressure for us as playmakers because we know anybody can go off in any given moment, so there’s no pressure on one person to go out there, score the ball, or make all the hero plays,” guard Nasir Mann said.
Mann, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, brings veteran leadership and tournament experience after going to March Madness with McNeese State in 2023-24. Outside of that, the Royals don’t have anyone who has played on this stage.
Leonard, who is expected to roll out one of his funky holiday-themed sweaters for the game, said he knows that his team might be nervous coming in facing a program like Purdue. The Royals are 25 1/2-point underdog, per BetMGM Sportsbook.
If they are, he plans to remind them about Buddy the Street Dog.
“I told them in the past two conference tournament games that you’re going to be nervous — and that’s OK,” Leonard said. “But just don’t be nervous and try to shoot your way out of it. Be nervous and make a hustle play. Do the little things, the tough, things that Buddy likes to do. And that will get rid of the butterflies.”
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
